Betdistrict.com
Everything will be at stake tonight in Scotland after the two teams recorded a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs. Celtic is a big favorite with odds around 1.55 for this one.
Celtic was awful in the tie against Legia Warszaw and was incredibly fortunate to reveived a gift from UEFA, winning the home reverse leg 3-0 by default after losing 1-4 away and 0-2 at home. However, the Glasgow side look determined to make use of this second chance and erase the shame from the Legia tie, playing good football in Slovenia where they dominated and had more chances than their opponents. Celtic is on the back of a 1-0 defeat against Inverness after winning big in the first two rounds, but their focus was clearly on this Maribor match and they rested a couple of players as well.
Maribor passed the group stages of Europa League last season and knocked out Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Champions League qualies this season. The Slovenians are poor as far as individual talent is concerned but they are a resilient team, very disciplined, organized, good defense. These last two years have seen Maribor emerge as a legitimate contender in Europe, which is amazing for the Slovenian champions, even though they did have more than a fair share of luck in many of their European matches.
 |
Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Lineups
Celtic: Gordon – Lustig, Denayer, Van Dijk, Izaguirre – McGregor, Mulgrew, Kayal, Commons, Berget – Stokes
Maribor: Handanovic – Suler, Rajcevic, Viler, Filipovic – Ibraimi, Dervisevic, Vrsic, Stojanovic – Bohar, Tavares
I respect the fact that Maribor is a team that can create problems from mid level european side and their latest results prove that. However, will these second-tier players be able to resist the pressure of playing in a packed Celtic Park with Champions League qualification on the line? I doubt it, and the way the first leg was played, I can`t see Celtic blowing this chance at home. The Scots proved they are the better team, they are desperate to redeem themselves after the Legia disaster and they should get a solid win today, a typical british attacking game, putting pressure and forcing Maribor to collapse. Bottom line, I`m picking Celtic and for this bet I`m counting on the quality difference in the lineups, on experience, home court advantage and what we saw in the first leg. I reckon it`s enough for a good solid 8 unit bet. My tip is Celtic to win and cover the 1 goal asian handicap. Prediction: Celtic – Maribor 2-0.
Pick: Celtic (-1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.08 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 8.64
Event date: 26 August
i really don’t like this. I think Celtic is a piece of crap. They lost their challenge(no Rangers), they lost their very good coach and also they lost some players.
They are 2 classes under the Celtic of last seasons.
My bet is Maribor +1, or riskier Maribor to qualify.
GL!
Nice preview as always, just do not agree with the pick.
I picked also Maribor to Qualify at amazing odds of 4.00 . really excited about this one, maribor have the cohesion and the team to do it .
I agree Celtic is not really top class, but playing in Britain with CL qualification on the table will be tough for Maribor. Celtic had the bigger chances in Slovenia and they are much stronger at home. We`ll see how it goes.